Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers, 5-25-18 – Pick & Preview

Pick, Prediction, & Preview:

Kansas City Royals vs Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers are set to return back to Globe Life Park in Arlington for game 2 of their 4 game home series against American League foe in the Kansas City Royals, first pitch is slated for 8:05 PM ET. After this series, these two teams will meet again on 6/18 when Texas travels north to Kansas City for a 3 game series.

Kansas City Royals's Latest Performance :

Good Outing Out Of Vet

The Kansas City Royals may be going down the rebuilding road but they still host some solid veterans on their roster who at one point have had really good seasons with one of those guys being 35-year-old Jason Hammel. Hammel has been the opposite of good for the Royals this season as the right-handed pitcher entered his last start on 5/22 with a 0-5 record and a 6.28 ERA but the veteran may be back on the right track after a solid start against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hammel had arguably his best start since 2016 as Hammel went 7 solid innings with 6 strikeouts in what was finally his first win of the season in as many as 10 starts. Hammel was solid in keeping the Cardinals off the board as he was only responsible for 1 run which is much better than his previous 4 starts where he gave up over 25 runs. The bullpen was able to put the lid on the bucket as the combination of Brad Keller and Kelvin Herrera pitched 2 shutout inning which has been the usual for these two relievers as they combine for a 1.44 ERA in 37 innings of work. The offense was able to do enough in making sure the Royals add a much-needed win to the resume as they scored 5 runs on 10 hits. Veteran Salvador Perez was able to continue his good season from the plate as he was able to hit his 7th HR of the season in the top of the 6th inning. Perez has only played in half of the Royals games this season due to injury but he already sits 2nd on the HR leaderboard for this struggling franchise which is both a sign of good and bad.

Texas Rangers's Latest Performance :

Hamels Dealing

The Texas Rangers have been waiting for the emergence out of the former 2002 first-round pick in Cole Hamels as the left-handed veteran has looked nothing like his 2016 self where he went 15-5 with a 3.32 ERA. Hamels was given the ball on 5/22 against the New York Yankees which was his 10th start of the season and although the 34-year-old has a solid ERA (3.38) he has not been on in the win column as he entered May with a 1-4 record. Hamels was able to give the Rangers 7 solid innings where he struck out 7 batters in what was his 3rd win of the season which came against one of the best teams in baseball. Hamels has started to revert to his old form as over his last 2 starts he has given the Rangers 2 straight wins behind only 2 earned runs in 13 innings. Jake Diekman almost turned Hamels solid outing into a no-decision as the reliever gave up 2 earned runs on 3 hits in only 1 inning of work. Although Diekman endured a struggle out of the bullpen closer Keone Kela came in for the final inning where he did not allow a hit in his 9th save of the season. The bats were fantastic for the Rangers as they roughed up the Yankees for 6 runs on 6 hits. Jurickson Profar delivered half of the Rangers runs on one swing of the bat as the 25-year-old was able to connect with a ball in the bottom of the 1st inning which was good for his 3rd HR of the season and his 23rd RBI. Joey Gallo has continuously delivered the long ball for the Rangers as he has a team-high 14 HRs but the slugger struggles in connecting with the ball outside of HRs as he is batting .148 in his last 7 games.

How Kansas City Royals & Texas Rangers Matchup.

Vegas Odds, Offshore Odds, & Odds ATS:

Kansas City is 15-33, 8-15 on the road.

Texas is 19-31, 8-17 at home.

In-Depth Analysis of each team:

The probable starting pitchers for this matchup is as follows: Eric Skoglund (1-4, 6.15 ERA) for the Kansas City Royals vs. Mike Minor (3-3, 5.59 ERA) for the Texas Rangers.

Skoglund last started on 5/20 against the Yankees where he went 5 innings giving up 6 earned runs on 8 hits in a L.

Minor last started on 5/20 against the White Sox where he went 5 innings where he struck out 9 guys in a L.

Texas ranks in the bottom 15 in team runs while Kansas City ranks in the bottom 10.

Texas ranks in the bottom 10 in team ERA while Kansas City ranks dead last.

Against The Spread Selection: Texas Rangers

My reason for the pick :

The Texas Rangers have the roster necessary to compete as they have some solid veterans all around their roster but injuries have derailed this team to a deep last-place spot in a very good AL West. Mike Minor may have a fairly high ERA (5.59) but the veteran has shown what he can do against other bottom-feeders as the righty struck out 9 of the 15 batters he recorded an out against. Skoglund has just been awful this season as he has not only struggled in the win department but also in ERA and although he isn’t going against the Yankees, the Rangers have shown they can hit some good teams on occasion. The bullpen has also been a disaster for the Royals and given that Skoglund is pulled after giving up some runs I don’t see the terrible relievers stopping the bleeding.

Betting trends for Kansas City Royals:

Kansas City is 12-26 with no rest this season.

The under is 17-13-2 after a loss this season.

Betting trends for Texas Rangers:

Texas is 15-22 against right-handed pitchers this season.

The under is 3-1-1 as the home favorite this season.

Anthony

I am a sports enthusiast and watch every sport from the NFL to the NHL with everything in between. I have followed sports since I was a young kid and have studied deep into statistics for teams, and players. I am always looking for transactions within sports and find in an interest in every game. Playing every sport growing up has led me to understand every game and look for certain trends and stats.